The Choices We Make
by XFVixen
Summary: Winnie Foster gets lost in the woods... (AU in the way that she doesn't stumble upon Jesse) Who does she find? (everything same up 'til woods bit at beginning of movie) Enjoy! More to come, r&r... anybody still read these things but me? lol (Title will pr


Hello all... To those following "Where is Elizabeth?" (My PotC story), this is one of the many  
  
things that have been clouding my thoughts, I remembered seeing this in theaters and renting  
  
it on dvd and falling in love w/ it, 6 months later I bought this movie out of Christmas money and  
  
fell in love w/ many possible story ideas... hope you enjoy. I sincerely apologize, I have not yet  
  
read the book... (currently reading the Hobbit, and have complete LotR waiting in the wings)  
  
anything too horribly inaccurate throughout this story, you can tell me... it'd be nice to know.  
  
Thank you!  
  
Ok... this all takes place the same as in the movie up 'til she meets Jesse at the spring... but she  
  
stumbles across someone else instead...  
  
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Chapter 1: Lost and Found  
  
Winnie Foster tried desperately to push through the brush without getting scratched, but  
  
to no avail. Much like her search for her way back home. She had been wandering out in the  
  
woods for quite some time, completely lost, when the surroundings began to frighten her. The  
  
dense forest was only letting in scattered bits of light, making it seem like it was nearing dusk,  
  
when in truth, it was barely after lunch.   
  
She was beginning to get really scared, when she heard the sound of a horse whinnying.  
  
As she came closer to the sound, she was finally able to see the outline of the horse and a person  
  
through the dense, poking baby shrubs. She carefully drew nearer to the person, unsure whether  
  
she should trust them without question. Her mother had always taught her to avoid strangers.  
  
*She never said anything about running away from home though.* She frowned, the realization  
  
that her mother might actually be worried about her hadn't hit her until that moment.   
  
She snuck up to a tree near the small clearing and watched the man, leaning slightly  
  
against the trunk. He was only about five inches taller than herself, with a medium build. He  
  
appeared to be sweating, *Probably from riding,* she deduced. He patted his horses neck  
  
affectionately.   
  
"Thirsty, boy?" His voice was a tad gruff, but not in a bad way. He walked the horse up to  
  
the tree. The horse drank from what looked like a tiny pool, but its source was yet to be known.  
  
The man then moved to the other side of the small spring, leaning down to the tiny pool of water  
  
and scooped his two hands together and filled them full of the water and drank. The water  
  
seemed to emerge from the tree itself, which made Winnie extremely curious. The man took a  
  
second scoopful and poured it over his head, ruffled his hair, and shook his head side to side in a  
  
dog-like fashion. Winnie had watched the neighbors puppies do this before and the comparison  
  
made her almost giggle out loud. She stifled it with her hand. She leaned toward the tree,  
  
deciding she wanted a closer look, took a cautious step. Apparently she wasn't cautious enough,  
  
because one of the tiny branches snapped under her boot. She looked down at it as the man  
  
looked up, scanning the area for the intrusion. Her eyes shot up to see if he had seen her yet and  
  
moved herself farther behind the tree. His eyes darted back and forth. All good nature drained  
  
from his grey-green eyes which now clouded over.   
  
"Who's there?" He demanded. Winnie kept quiet, not ready to give away her position.   
  
"I said. Who's there? I'm not gonna hurt you." His voice made her jump and partially  
  
squeak. She took a few deep breaths and calmed herself. Feeling ready to handle this situation  
  
like an adult, she took one last deep breath and emerged from behind the tree, stepping seemingly  
  
fearless into the clearing.   
  
"Excuse me, sir..."  
  
He took in the sight of her. *Just a child, shouldn't be too hard to get rid of her...*  
  
"What are you doin' way out here?" He asked condescendingly.  
  
"Same thing you are, I suppose... by the way, what are you doing out here?"   
  
He smirked, "Just taking a leisurely ride through the woods..." the horse had stopped  
  
drinking, as if curious about the intruder as well. The man grabbed his horses reins and pulls him  
  
forward a bit to where they were standing in front of the spring. "How long were you standing  
  
there?"  
  
Her face flushed somewhat, and he noticed her embarrassment, "Not long... I heard a  
  
noise and I came to investigate."  
  
"Quite the little officer, aren't we?" He realized he needed to get rid of her quickly.  
  
"You'd probably better get on home, these woods are populated by thieves and murderers."  
  
*Scare her, good...* he thought darkly.  
  
She didn't miss a beat, "And which would you be, sir?"  
  
He was off-put by her remark, "Neither, but I can defend myself against attack... what can  
  
a little girl do to protect herself?" There was a slight pause, Winnie refrained from answering, so  
  
the stranger continued. "Exactly. Now go on home." He turned his back to her, picking up the  
  
bowl his horse had been drinking out of and stowed it in the saddle pack.  
  
Winnie's facade was starting to fade, the more she thought about it, the more she didn't  
  
want to be around this man any longer. Her head began to pound, and she realized she was  
  
incredibly thirsty.  
  
"I intend to and will, I just need a drink from that spring and I'll be on my way." She  
  
stormed up to it. As she bent down to cup the water, he quickly realized what she had said,  
  
turned and grabbed her around the waist. He pulled her to her feet, placing his hands on her  
  
shoulders, "I don't think so, Miss."  
  
She shrugged out of his grasp, "My father is not only one of the most respected men in  
  
this town, but he is also the rightful owner to these woods, so I'll drink from this spring if I like."  
  
He furrowed his brow in disbelief, "Owner? You wouldn't happen to be a Foster, now,  
  
would you?"  
  
Winnie straightened her posture even more, "Yes, I am."  
  
"Got a first name, Miss Foster?"  
  
She crossed her arms indignantly, "Yes, Miss."  
  
He laughed at her sarcasm. "Now... Are you going to move out of the way and let me  
  
drink from my own spring? Or else?" She tilted her head in defiance.  
  
*Too easy...* He ducked down, grabbed her by her waist, and hoisted her over his  
  
shoulder.   
  
She squealed in shock. "Let me down! My father will MOST DEFINITELY hear about  
  
this!" She wriggled, putting both hands on his shoulder and pushed off. He was unable to hold on  
  
to her and she landed hard on her feet, causing her ankles to stink. He lunged forward to grab her  
  
again and she quickly balled her hand into a fist and connected it with his nose. He was caught  
  
off guard and stumbled, clutching his nose.   
  
She stumbled a bit as well, but quickly caught her bearings and began to run from the  
  
clearing. She darted past trees and under low hanging branches. When she could no longer hear  
  
his jagged breathing, she turned her head to chance a glance behind her. She did not see the  
  
rabbit hole ahead and continued running, her foot stepping right into it. Shocks of pain emanated  
  
from the ankle, which refused to support her anymore. She went down too quickly to catch  
  
herself and hit her head on a tree root. Her world went black, but not before she heard the sound  
  
of running feet against soft soil.   
  
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Ok... how'd ya like it? E-mail me xfvixenffemail@yahoo.com, or review, or both... I LOVE  
  
FEEDBACK....   
  
Couple questions...   
  
1) Who do you think the mystery man is?  
  
2) What do you think will happen to Winnie?  
  
3) I am posting this as a adventure/romance, so.... Who do you think Winnie should end up w/?  
  
(I'm up for suggestions.. Doesn't mean I have to listen to them, but I can listen. :) e-mail me any  
  
ideas )  
  
4) Do the Tuck's bleed? (I was curious about this... they can't die, but does that mean they can't  
  
bleed as well? Book readers: Did Natalie B. cover this at all?)  
  
Thank you for all your imput! Catch ya next chapter... 


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